Hi all, I am very new to this website but unfortunately not new to pain... I was wondering if anyone else has difficutly rating their pain for dr office visits. It seems like whenever I'm there writing down all of this stuff that it's not too bad, most likely because I've been sitting in the waiting room for quite a while, then sitting in the room for a while so my feet don't hurt so much--mine is worse when I'm on them. Do you go ahead and rate it for what it would be or had been for the few days prior to the dr office visit or do you rate the pain for right then and there (which is what they seem to want)?

((((((Possomtrot)))))) <<-- Cute name

I have trouble with that too. Do they want to know how much my neck hurts?? or my lumbar?? or my fibromyalgia??

When I go to pain management, I usually say "my neck is a 3-4" and "my lumbar is 6-8".

My low back doesn't hurt at all unless I stand. So, I go from 0 to 60 in ... 10 seconds

I had an epidural in my neck a couple of weeks ago. I finally figured out that "they" (the pain management people) do not want to give you any needles if you're having zero pain.

I guess my sneaky way around the one-number-thing is just to describe the pain level when I do certain things -- it's a certain number when I stand to do laundry or dishes, it's another number when I ride in a motor vehicle.

I have trouble with the numbers too -- I usually look at the smiley faces and try to choose which one of those that I feel like.

I guess I'm not the best of patients ... refusing to give one number and qualifying their dumb number system with my own interpretation

Barb

That's so funny! I have always wondered the same thing, lol. Even not knowing what the heck they wanted, how I felt at that very moment, or how I will feel an hour later! I just put how I will feel midday, just because it may be a morning appt, and I have not done much walking, etc... yet and may be ok at the moment. Well, I am NOT going to put 2-3, when I know the majority of the day I am a 6-8!

I always say well for normal people this would be "X" and say for me it is "Y". My doc understands that. Basically anything beyond an 8 or 9 is hospitalville! In my book anyway.

Rate Your Pain.. This is one of the best index's I've seen..

Go to: www.RSDhope.org and look at the McGill Pain Index. Very simple and to the point..